Today, I’m celebrating my SIX year blogging anniversary!! It’s a little late but… better than late than never, right? 😉 Usually, I shared lessons I’ve learned from the blogging journey thus far but today, I just want to share my heart and write. <3
Outfit Details
Needle and Thread Floral Dress (similar) | Bernardo Nude Heels | Vintage Whiting and Davis Handbag | Lele Sadoughi Pearl Headband
My Six Year Blogging Anniversary
Just like that…. six years has flown by in the blink of an eye. Every year, like clockwork, I sit down and read all of previous anniversary posts and reminisce (see year five, four, three, two and one). Having a blog is really quite magical in the way that I can look back on previous moments of my life – all the milestones, memories and lessons that have brought me to where I am now. I can relive specific moments like I’m still there and I can feel the feelings I felt when sharing my heart through my posts.
It’s a funny thing because back in high school, I was never one for writing. I mean, I did so I could good grades but it just wasn’t a passion of mine. I never thought I would venture into journalism of any sort but I did know that my heart belonged in fashion. It’s just something I knew from a very young age and it’s something that I’ve worked extremely hard for ever since. But the field can be difficult to break into (especially for someone that grew up in a VERY small town) and after many unsuccessful attempts, I found blogging. At the time, I felt it was my last chance to share my true passion for fashion and design… and Lizzie in Lace was born.
I had no idea what I was doing but I knew that I was scared. I cared way too much about what people thought about me and I never planned to share anything more than my outfits and latest creations, especially not my inner most thoughts (my introvert self shudders at the thought but here we are lol!). Pushing “publish” on my very first post was terrifying but this simple gesture… this millisecond in time… is what put me on this path and changed my entire life. At the time, I didn’t realize the potential and I certainly didn’t think I could ever make it my career. I just knew that I wanted to share what I loved and I wanted to help others in the process. When I started, I was working three full-time jobs. Looking back, I don’t know how I did it but somehow, I managed to put up a blog post three times a week, usually staying up until 2am every night to do so. I hustled for years without seeing a cent because I just loved it so much. And little by little, this rose-colored fairytale world of mine became a real-life fairytale and things that I could only DREAM of and never in a million years thought were possible for myself started to happen. I pinch myself because I can’t believe that I get to do something that I love so much. Given my background, a lot of things were stacked against me and I had to overcome a lot of obstacles, but it was so worth it.
The journey has not come without challenges, of course. Over the years, I fell into comparing myself to others in my field… and others I had grown up with. I felt “behind” in life and a sense of urgency to catch up to where everyone else was. I compared my “success” with the implied success of others. I wondered if it was worth it to be unique or if I should try to appease to the masses. I struggled with anxious thoughts and imposter syndrome, feeling that I somehow did not deserve the recognition or success that I had worked for since I was young. I allowed myself be taken advantage of by others who were trying to carve their own path and I felt pressured to do things a certain way. I learned a lot of hard lessons about business, relationships and myself. Like many, this past year was one of the hardest I’ve had to endure professionally and honestly, I was scared that I would lose the very thing I worked for years to build and that I’ve sacrificed so much for but the extra time reminded me of why I started in the first place, allowed for me to start projects I had been putting off and forced me to grow in more ways than I ever have before. From my very first post to now, I’ve changed SO much and it’s 100% because I made the decision to start this blog.
Growing up, I always wanted to help people and I also loved fashion but I just didn’t know how I could mesh the two… and I didn’t want to be seen as vain because I loved clothes. I wanted to go into design because I’m such a artistic person but also because I wanted to make women feel beautiful in their clothes. Although I am still chasing that dream, I now understand why things worked out the way they did because it led me here where I could do the same thing but on a different scale. At first, I didn’t quite understand how my blog was helping others but now I get it.
I wrote a post a few years ago about why it’s okay to be a girly girl where I talked about why I thought it was important to be yourself. This year, I ventured into YouTube and uploaded it in the form of a video and I could not believe the responses. I always felt so alone in this and then I realized that there were others out there like me. Some that suppressed their love of feminine things because they didn’t want to get made fun of and some that were too embarrassed to fully be themselves because it wasn’t accepted by their friends, family and society. I didn’t realize how much of an impact this message had but it completely makes sense because when you think about it we all crave to be accepted, loved and supported and the lightbulb moment for me was when I realized that my purpose in life wasn’t just to share pretty clothes but to also inspire others to not only chase their dreams but to accept, love and be themselves unapologetically.
When I look back on this journey, I realize that life was unfolding for me just the way I needed it to, obstacles were put in my way so I could learn and although I grew impatient at times, the timing was always perfect. The biggest realization was that my”failures” made room for better things to come. No matter how much we try to force it, the universe always seems to know what we need and it’s even better than anything that we could do for ourselves. Blogging has honestly been one of the biggest blessings in my life – it’s given me confidence, community and a purpose. It’s been so much more than I could have ever imagined and I feel so grateful that I was given this opportunity.
I know that a lot of you have been here since day one. You have celebrated my successes, encouraged me through the darkest times, watched me grow as a person, supported my passion endlessly and have stuck with me through many learning curves (photography editing frustrations… and now, videography – HAHA!)…. but most importantly, you believed in me when I didn’t believe in myself. This platform has brought me a lot of friendships from all over the world, something I would not have otherwise. I really do have the best community and I just adore you all SO SO much! THANK YOU from the bottom of my heart for your love, support and encouragement over the years. I appreciate it more than you know!
Cheers!
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